How Star Wars walked away from the world’s first self-retracting lightsaber toy

Hasbro turned down the holy grail of lightsaber toys, and it won't say why.

The Star Wars toymaker spent two years secretly working on a kids lightsaber that can automatically extend and retract its blade - the very first of its kind. Hasbro acquired all rights to the idea from a previously unknown Israeli inventor and patented it around the world.

But instead of finishing the product, Hasbro walked away without explanation. It let the inventor claw back the rights. Today, with the help of a different manufacturer, you can finally buy it at Target and Walmart - as the Goliath Power Saber.

The $60 toy doesn't have official Star Wars sounds or authentic Jedi or Sith hilts. The blade isn't as long as the movie sabers, and it doesn't have the build quality or sophistication of pricier props.

But a simple yet ingenious mechanism means we finally have a lightsaber toy that can actually retract its own blade. Slide the golden switch, and a noisy motor sends each of its glowing blade segments smoothly in and out of the handle. Poke someone with the saber, and its blade will safely collapse without damage. You can even safely point it at your own face - see that in my video below.

Three years after Disney jazzed the world with a self-retracting lightsaber prop that you'll never get to touch, one that was exclusively used by a paid actor in its shuttered $6,000-per-stay Star Wars hotel, you can now buy a toy that captures some of the same magic.

And its Israeli inventor claims that the Power Saber is just the start.